Former FEMA exec pleads guilty to conflict of interest charges

A former executive with the Federal Emergency Management Agency pleaded guilty to federal conflict of interest charges on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

Timothy Cannon, a former human resources director at FEMA, attempted to secure a job with polling and consulting firm Gallup while managing and negotiating a contract the company had at the agency, Justice said. .

According to the FBI, a series of email conversations between July 2007 and February 2009 showed that Cannon was actively discussing a FEMA contract with the company while showing interest in possible future employment at Gallup.  The company later withdrew its employment offer to Cannon after several employees inside Gallup voiced ethical concerns about the hire.

The plea was made in front of judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. The Justice Department said that sentencing was scheduled for April 9, 2013, and the charge carries a statutory maximum of five years of jail time.

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